1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric wire pressure welding apparatus and an electric wire pressure welding method which can exactly position the end of an electric wire in a solderless connector.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIGS. 15 and 16 show a prior art pressure welding method proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 5-306472.
In this method, an electric wire 72 is located over a solderless connector 71 and is pushed toward the connector 71 by a wire pushing plate 73 thereby to position the wire 72 on a table 74, and then the wire 72 is pressure-welded to a solderless terminal 76 in the connector 71 by lowering a pressure welding blade 75.
The pressure welding blade 75 moves vertically by means of a cylinder (not shown) and the wire pushing plate 73 is fixed to a rod 77 of a pneumatic cylinder 70. The wire 72 is cut by a cutter 79 on a wire holding member 78 just before pressure welding and then pressure-welded with keeping marginal length L1 from the terminal 76 as shown in FIG. 16 and, at the same time, specifying a little space L2 from an inner wall of a connector housing 80. The marginal length L1 is necessary for a strong connection.
It has been, however, difficult to apply the above prior art method to a case with a large distance H between the wire 72 and the table 74, that is, to a case of a connector housing with large height, since an electric wire is apt to go back or to deflect right or left after being cut. Further, it is impossible to apply this method to an upward or lateral pressure welding since the gravity acts on the wire.